Newsweek - Americans' Average Rent Just Got More Expensive
Published Mar 10, 2025 at 7:51 AM EDT
Giulia Carbonaro
The U.S. median asking rent climbed by 0.4 percent in February compared to a year earlier to reach $1,607 -- the first increase in six months and the biggest in nine, according to a new report by Redfin. Compared to January, the median asking rent in the U.S. was up 0.6 percent last month.
While it is a very modest growth, experts warned that landlords may be raising prices as apartment construction slows down across the country -- a trend that is likely to hurt renters should it continue.
Why It Matters
The country is in a housing affordability crisis that is impacting both homeowners and renters.
Rents spiked during the pandemic, when a record half of all U.S. renters were cost burdened, according to a study from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. In 2022, 22.4 million renter households spent more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities -- 2 million more than three years earlier.
However, after rapidly overheating in 2021 and 2022, rental markets across the U.S. rapidly cooled in 2023 and 2024, with rents falling in some cities. Researchers found that this sudden slowdown could be largely explained with the growth in inventory in the U.S. rental market, as well as a decline in demand.
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